Wei Jing Tang苇茎汤
Reed Decoction
Ingredients4 herbs
Indications
Lung abscess from heat toxin congesting the Lung with phlegm and stasis bound together. Heat cooks the fluids into phlegm and stalls the blood; the two congeal, and the flesh of the Lung suppurates. Cooling alone will not clear it — the stasis has to be moved and the pus given a way out.
Clinical Manifestations
- Lung abscess with cough and foul, blood-streaked sputum
- Copious yellow sputum with a low-grade fever
- Dull chest pain that worsens on coughing
- Bronchiectasis and pneumonia with thick purulent phlegm
- Chronic productive cough with a greasy yellow tongue coating
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Frank pus already forming — add Yu Xing Cao 鱼腥草 and Jie Geng 桔梗 to lift and discharge it
- Heat toxin marked, high fever — add Jin Yin Hua 金银花 and Lian Qiao 连翘
- Chest pain from stasis prominent — increase Tao Ren 桃仁 and add Chi Shao 赤芍
- Fluids already damaged, dry mouth and scanty coating — add Bei Sha Shen 北沙参 or Mai Men Dong 麦门冬
Contraindications
A suspected lung abscess, bronchiectasis with haemoptysis, or pneumonia is a condition for supervised care, not self-treatment. Not for a cough of cold-phlegm or of Lung dryness, where the sputum is thin, white and scanty. Tao Ren moves blood, so use caution alongside anticoagulant therapy.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Avoid in pregnancy unless a practitioner judges it necessary — Tao Ren invigorates blood and is conventionally withheld during pregnancy; a lung abscess in a pregnant patient needs medical care, not a home decoction.
Related Formulas
References
Source 《外台秘要》引《古今录验方》 · Tang
「咳有微热，烦满，胸中甲错，是为肺痈。」
- Classical source (public domain), cited in the source-quote section.
2. Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies, 2nd ed. — composition & dosage cross-checked.
3. 《方剂学》（全国中医药行业高等教育规划教材）— pattern analysis cross-checked.
Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.